Last weekend I had my first weekend away from baby W and enjoyed a relaxing weekend with some great friends…
Friday – Clifton village including Somerset House and Wildwood
We picked Clifton/Bristol as it was central to all of us (from Cardiff/Devon/London). The Cardiff contingent got slightly lost driving into Clifton, but that wasn’t half as stressful as trying to find a parking space! We got one in the end, but I think we’d get a train next time – it would have saved me a giggling fit asking a local where to park and him reacting as if I’d asked how to cure ebola.. cue awkward silence!
Parked up, we explored Clifton village and fell in love with it straight away – it’s compact, and full of independent boutiques, bars and cafes. We had a great, late lunch in Somerset House – I had fish (can’t remember which!) on a bed of tomato/chorizo/chickpea with a glass of wine for just a tenner – delicious!
Post-lunch we had a look round the wonderful shops – we both bought some Christmas presents and treated ourselves to a few things (a candle and groovy umbrella for me!). Even the charity shops were amazing – I picked up a lovely Monsoon dress for £8!
After checking into our accommodation (found via Airbnb – very basic and a bit grubby but perfect location!) and meeting a friend for a coffee, we headed out for cocktails. We stumbled on a new, big, cool-looking place called Wildwood.
We made this our home for the next few hours, while we waited for the rest of the girls. Great ambience, friendly and efficient staff, good food and drinks – I recommend it!
Saturday – spa day at Clifton Lido
On a beautiful misty, mysterious morning we walked over to the Lido for a half spa day (£85). Regular readers will know that I love spas and treaments and this place did not disappoint! I’ve never been to a restored Lido before, and I loved it – they’ve done a great job of restoring it, modernising it while keeping lots of the original features.
The outdoor pool was refreshing after using the steam room and sauna (both of which were great although could get busy) and the outdoor hot tub was a great place to unwind and watch over the pool. I had a full body massage with Erica and it was excellent – she really worked on my knots using all sorts of techniques – I was close to sleeping! After a ginger and lemongrass tea in the relaxation room, it was time for lunch…
I’m used to spa lunches involving salads and jacket potatoes. – this was something else, a really good restaurant that just happens to be in a spa! I had amazing scallops in garlic and herbs to start, followed by lightly spiced minced lamb on a bed of humus – it was highly delicious!
Post-spa and lunch we were wiped out but managed to drag ourselves around some more shops! In the evening we wanted to try one of the other independent restaurants in the area but they were all fully booked so we defaulted to Pizza Express 🙂
Sunday – Clifton suspension bridge and Sunday dinner at Somerset House
A perfect, fresh, Autumnal morning for a walk to and across the famous Suspension bridge…
After working up an appetite (doesn’t take much!) and a bit more shopping (!) we ended our weekend where it all started – Somerset House. As expected, they do a perfect Sunday dinner with excellent house wine. We shared a dessert of apple and cinnamon doughnuts served with toffee sauce and apple puree – yummmmmmmmm!
So there we have it – great company, a wonderful spa, delicious food and wine, beautiful shops – all in one unique, independent part of Bristol…. Clifton, I’ll be back!
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